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Infoblox signs deal for new Santa Clara HQ; to hire hundreds

MercuryNews.Com

June 7, 2012

Infoblox has struck a deal for a major expansion of its headquarters in Santa Clara and plans to add hundreds of workers when it moves into a big office complex that underwent a $10 million upgrade by developer Bixby Land.

The leasing deal comes on the heels of a $105 million initial public offering in April by the company, which makes software that helps companies weave together their networks to serve an array of devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets.

"We are bursting at the seams," said Rebecca Guerra, Infoblox vice president of talent acquisition and care.

Infoblox has 245 employees, and the new complex will enable the company to grow to about 500.

It agreed to lease a 127,000-square-foot, two-building complex that was renovated by property owner and developer Bixby Land. The deal was arranged through commercial realty firms Colliers International and CB Richard Ellis.

"With the expansions by Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) and other companies, tenants are being pushed out of Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino," said Joe Elliott, a senior vice president with Colliers.

That has put two large neighboring cities in the path of Silicon Valley's current growth spurt. "Companies are now looking to expand in Santa Clara and North San Jose," Elliott said.

Infoblox expects to be in its new offices at 3111 Coronado Drive by next year.

With tech companies large and small seeking to outmuscle their rivals in the search for talent, Silicon Valley firms increasingly are using new or upgraded buildings as a way to attract recruits.

"We want a place where people can visualize themselves as an Infoblox citizen," Guerra said. "The headquarters will be a place where people can collaborate, meet and converse and gather socially."

Bixby Land bought the property in 2011 and set out to give the two buildings a redesign, hoping to bring tech tenants to the refurbished complex.

Bixby connected the buildings with a glass pavilion and created an exterior courtyard. The outside gathering area has couch seating, fire pits, recessed lighting, an outdoor kitchen and grill and a waterscape feature.

"There is a growing demand by tenants for a high-quality work environment," Bill Halford, president of Bixby Land,said in a prepared release.

Bixby is busy with a revamp of a three-building campus totaling 164,000 square feet on River Oaks Parkway in San Jose that it bought last year. The renovation of the San Jose complex will cost an estimated $11 million, Halford said.

"After the Facebook deal, there is very little space left in chunks of 100,000 square feet and more in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale and Mountain View," Elliot said. "That means San Jose and Santa Clara are going to be the next cities that can get these big expansions."